1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of data reduction computing systems and more particularly to data visualization for data reduction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Database management systems have fueled the utility of computing for a substantial portion of end users for many decades. Conventional database management systems allow for the structured storage of mass quantities of data and also conventional database management systems provide an interface through which the data can be sorted, filtered and queried. The manipulation of stored data in a database management system provides the end user with unlimited ways to relate data so as to intelligently analyze the context and meaning of the stored data in manner not previously possible when analyzing data on paper without the assistance of a computer.
For some database management systems holding only a limited number of data types in each record, data can only be related to one another in so many ways such that the manipulation of stored data afforded by the database management system can suffice in facilitating a competent reduction of the data. Strictly speaking, data acquisition refers to the collection and storage of data in a database management system, while data reduction refers to the analysis of data in a database management system to apply meaning to the collected and stored data. Integral to the modern data reduction process, data, data visualization further facilitates a mental understanding of the interrelationship between different types of data stored in a database management system.
Data visualization is a technique that allows a user of a database system to view information about data stored in the database along different dimensions. The data visualizations that are created to display the information can take on various forms. One typical form is that of a table layout, with each row representing a record in the database and each column representing a field from the record. The table usually lists a subset of the database records and a subset of the available fields in the database records. Furthermore, the table can be ordered as an aid to navigation. A general overview of data visualization can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,900 to Patterson et al. for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DATA VISUALIZATION issued on Mar. 4, 2003.
Data visualization requires the use of complex tools arranged to interact with an underlying database management system. Installing a data visualization tool can be challenging for many end users and requires the intervention by trained information technologists. Yet further, configuring a data visualization tool for interoperability with an underlying database management system can be a daunting affair, also requiring the expertise of a trained information technologist or team of trained information technologists. Accordingly, for many end users the benefit of data visualization remains out of reach.